Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. Makes New $13.72 Million Investment in WD-40 Company $WDFC

Key Points

• Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. acquired 56,242 shares of WD-40 Company, valued at approximately $13.7 million, which represents about 0.42% of the company's outstanding shares as of the latest SEC filing.
• WD-40 reported earnings per share of $1.54 for the last quarter, surpassing estimates and showing a year-over-year revenue increase of 1.2% to $156.92 million.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.94 per share, translating to an annualized dividend yield of 1.7%, with a payout ratio of 59.21%.

Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of WD-40 Company (NASDAQ:WDFC - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 56,242 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock, valued at approximately $13,723,000. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. owned 0.42% of WD-40 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC grew its position in WD-40 by 0.8% during the first quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 568,302 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $138,666,000 after buying an additional 4,672 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P. grew its position in WD-40 by 1,767.7% during the first quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 448,180 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $109,356,000 after buying an additional 424,183 shares during the period. Geneva Capital Management LLC grew its position in WD-40 by 18.7% during the first quarter. Geneva Capital Management LLC now owns 248,197 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $60,560,000 after buying an additional 39,137 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. grew its position in WD-40 by 122.0% during the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 162,181 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $39,572,000 after buying an additional 89,120 shares during the period. Finally, Millennium Management LLC grew its position in WD-40 by 206.9% during the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 158,156 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $38,381,000 after buying an additional 106,617 shares during the period. 91.52% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

WD-40 Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ WDFC traded down $2.02 on Friday, hitting $210.79. The company's stock had a trading volume of 17,547 shares, compared to its average volume of 142,230. WD-40 Company has a 12-month low of $208.00 and a 12-month high of $292.36. The company has a market capitalization of $2.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.19 and a beta of 0.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 2.84 and a quick ratio of 2.02. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $219.39 and a 200-day moving average of $230.49.

WD-40 (NASDAQ:WDFC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 10th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.40 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $156.92 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $160.60 million. WD-40 had a net margin of 14.13% and a return on equity of 31.23%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.46 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that WD-40 Company will post 5.42 EPS for the current year.

WD-40 Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 31st. Investors of record on Friday, July 18th were paid a dividend of $0.94 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 18th. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.8%. WD-40's dividend payout ratio is presently 59.21%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, DA Davidson lowered their target price on shares of WD-40 from $322.00 to $300.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, WD-40 presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $290.00.

WD-40 Profile

WD-40 Company develops and sells maintenance products, and homecare and cleaning products in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and the Asia Pacific. The company provides multi-purpose maintenance products that include aerosol sprays, non-aerosol trigger sprays, precision pens, and in liquid-bulk form products under the WD-40 Multi-Use brand name; specialty maintenance products, such as penetrants, degreasers, corrosion inhibitors, greases, lubricants, and rust removers under the WD-40 Specialist brand; and bike-specific products.